


love hurts, but never forever

by literalcat



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Hanahaki AU, Hanahaki Disease, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, happy ending this time!!! :D
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 15:43:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12084162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literalcat/pseuds/literalcat
Summary: Max had always liked flowers. They were the perfect subject; still, patient, and ever beautiful. They looked so delicate and pretty when covered in dewdrops; so powerful and dramatic against a storming sky.Max had always liked flowers, until they started pouring out her throat.





	love hurts, but never forever

**Author's Note:**

> hiya. this started as a vent work by the name of "love is beauty; pain is beauty" that I left off very early on with a depressing open ending because I was going through some shit. and hey, what do you know, I got through it.  
> i was upset with myself for leaving this story unfinished, so here you are!! a happy ending to that one hanahaki fic i wrote like months ago. it's a lot longer this time, promise c:  
> please enjoy!

Max had always liked flowers. They were the perfect subject; still, patient, and ever beautiful. A lot of her photographs- more than she cared to admit- were of flowers, or plants, or leaves, or trees. They looked so delicate and pretty when covered in dewdrops; so powerful and dramatic against a storming sky. Max had always liked flowers, until they started pouring out her throat.

She’d made it to the bathroom this time, at least. Coughing, trembling, sweating, she was leaning over the toilet bowl, bracing herself for the violent outpour of petals. She coughed hard, feeling the familiar choke of a flower forcing itself through her throat, and saw it fall with a sickly splat into the water. It was a carnation; pink, pale, and pretty, dyed red with Max’s own blood. It leeched out of the flower into the water in soft, curling trails, like smoke from a cigarette. She threw up, petals covering the basin in shades of pink and red.

Trembling violently and wiping her mouth, Max slowly sank back onto her heels, tears filling her eyes. She heard Chloe’s voice call out- “Max? You alright? You don’t sound too good.”- and hurriedly flushed the toilet, ignoring her shaky stomach, making sure there was no evidence left of her mess.

“Uh, yeah, be out in a minute!” Max called back. She sat against the wall, resting her head in her hands.

 

When she finally emerged, Chloe- beautiful, beautiful Chloe- was waiting for her, framed by the golden sun, looking both worried and pissed off at the same time, if that were even possible. Chloe, with her adorable laugh. Chloe, with her bright blue hair. Chloe, with her mesmerising eyes. Chloe; Max’s angel.

Chloe; the girl who would never, ever love her back.

She must have noticed Max staring, because she waved a hand in front of her eyes playfully. “Hey, Earth-to-Maximus. You still with me?”

Max went red, and looked away. “Uh, yeah, sorry.” Sheepishly, she smiled up at Chloe, who rolled her eyes. “You zone out now more than you did when we were twelve. Um, hey, though,” she said. “I was… going to show you this… thing, actually, that Rachel and I had. A little haven, if you will. But, if you’re that unwell, maybe we should hold it off until you’re better…”

_Oh, Chloe. I won’t get better; Not with you caring about me so much._

Max shook her head, feigning a smile. “Actually, I’d love to see it. Just… Be wary of the coughing.” She said. She could tell Chloe was excited to show her, and honestly, if Max was going to die before the next week, she would rather her last days be spent with Chloe.

Chloe perked up a little. “I- I mean, if you’re sure,” she started towards the door, glancing occasionally back at Max. Max shook her head with a smile. “I’m fine, Chlo. Lead the way.”

* * *

 

Sitting in Chloe’s beat up old truck, seeing the golden sun filtering through dusty windows onto worn seats and old collectibles, watching the way passing lights made Chloe’s face glow ever-so-slightly, was the way Max wanted to live forever. Just her, and Chloe, and the sun, and nostalgia.

Chloe had put on some Green Day song that Max happened to know, and they both belted out the lyrics as she drove, laughing and smiling like the world was perfect. Max looked over at her friend- God, she hated that word, how she hated it, but she couldn’t dwell on it now- and felt something elated and gold rise inside her belly. It rose up to her heart, and it fluttered, butterfly-like, against her ribcage.

She loved Chloe so, so much.

As soon as the cursed thought flew from her mind, the tell-tale itch began in the back of her throat. Max’s eyes widened. “Shit,” she cursed. Chloe looked over. “Max?”

“Shit… Pull over, pull over!”

Chloe brought the truck to a stop and Max practically burst out the side, coughing onto the gravelly road. She coughed, again and again, until her limbs trembled and failed her, and she fell to the ground, still coughing, still heaving, still shuddering.

She heard Chloe run to her side. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, there’d be no way to hide… No way to stop her from seeing…

“Max! Max, are you okay?” She knelt beside her friend, gathering her in her arms and holding her whilst she coughed. Max heard her go silent, and she knew that Chloe had seen them.

Flowers. Wet, bloodied, pink, beautiful. Petals, crushed and ripped, lying torn on the road. Blood, dripping from Max’s lips. Fragments of pink, still clinging to her mouth.

Chloe stared for a moment, her eyes widening, then softening in understanding. She said nothing, just held Max close while she shuddered and tried to regain her shaky breath.

Finally, the two broke apart, Chloe helping Max back into her seat before getting in herself. The two were silent for a moment whilst Chloe drove.

“So…” she eventually said, resting her head on one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel. “Hanahaki, huh?"

Max looked down. “…Yeah.”

“Who?” Chloe asked softly. Max’s heart clenched, and she had to turn her head to the side so Chloe wouldn’t see her cry. “I don’t… Wanna talk about it,” she said stiffly. Chloe nodded, clearing her throat, and the rest of the drive was spent in silence.

* * *

 

“Well,” Chloe said with a little flourish. “This is it. Our little paradise.” It was an old oak tree, just behind a set of railroad tracks, surrounded by park benches made from rotting wood. It looked untouched, almost separate from human existence. The sun’s rays branched out from behind its leaves, painting half of it golden-red and casting dappled shadows on the ground below. Chloe began walking up to it, gesturing for Max to follow.

“Rachel and I used to come up here a lot. We would climb up and sit on the branches together, just watching the sun set.” Her voice still caught slightly on the name ‘Rachel’, and her eyes were downcast for a moment, but… She seemed like she was reminiscing. Treasuring the memory of Rachel instead of grieving. So, Max just listened, following Chloe to the base of the tree. “Sounds peaceful.” She said.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah…” she said quietly. Then she turned around. “I guess… I still wanted to share this place with someone. Rachel would have wanted that, not for me to… I don’t know, avoid it because I miss her.”

Max smiled at that. “That’s why you brought me here? I feel honoured.”

Chloe laughed, and started to climb the tree. “As well you should, Super-Max. Come on up, Arcadia Bay doesn’t look so shitty from here.”

And so, Max followed. She almost slipped on the way up, but Chloe caught her hand and, smiling, pulled her up to one of the topmost branches. It was old, and twisted, and thick, and supported both girls with ease. And they sat, and watched the sun dip below the horizon, first gilding the clouds with gold, then filling the sea with glitter, and, finally, disappearing to give way to the night.

Chloe cleared her throat. “Listen, Max… There is, um… Another reason I brought you up here, but…” She sighed. “But… That was before you, um… You know.”

 _Coughed up a bunch of blood-covered flowers because I’m hopelessly in love with you?_ Her heart ached. _Yeah, I know._

Chloe took a deep breath. “So, I know you don’t feel the same way, but I need to get it off my chest anyway, so I’m just gonna say it.”

_Wait… what?_

She turned to Max, illuminated by starlight, and Max noticed for the first time just how close Chloe was sitting. “I…” Her breath hitched. Not with hesitation, but with… panic. Her eyes widened, and she lurched forward, a hand to her mouth. Max gripped her shoulder “Chloe?”

Chloe coughed into her hand, making a choked noise. The coughs became hacking and violent, loud and destructive. Max put both arms around her, holding her close as her body trembled. She cried in pain as a rose fell from her mouth, blood pouring from where the thorns had ripped at the inside of her throat. The sound stabbed Max right through her own heart.

Finally, the fit stopped. Chloe let her head rest on Max’s chest for a moment, and the world stilled. But soon, too soon, too suddenly, she pulled away, wiping the blood from her chin. She looked at Max with sad eyes.

“You aren’t… the only one with Hanahaki, I guess.” She said, looking away. Max put a hand on her shoulder. “Chloe, are you—“

“It’s you.”

_…What?_

She looked up, and Max saw that her eyes were red-rimmed and full of tears. “It’s you, Max. I love you. I forgot for a while, I ignored it, I tried to let it die, but—“ Her breath caught. “It wouldn’t happen. I… Rachel might’ve been my angel, Max, but you’re my hero. You always were. I thought… Maybe, just… Maybe the disease was wrong, or something. Maybe I was wrong, but you coughed up those flowers, and… I know you love… s-someone else.” Chloe said. She swallowed nervously. “But I couldn’t not tell you. I’m so sorry, Max, I—“

“I love you too.” Max couldn’t believe she’d let the words slip from her mouth, but they were true. Chloe looked up suddenly. “You… what?”

“I love you too!” She repeated, vision growing blurry as her eyes filled with tears. “Those flowers were for _you_ , Chloe! I love you, I love you so, so much and I always have. I love your voice and your laugh and your eyes and—I love _you,_ I love all of you, even the parts you don’t like. I always will. How could you possibly think I didn’t love you?”

“How could you think I didn’t?!”

They were both silent for a moment, staring at each other, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, hopeful, dreamlike. Then, they burst into laughter. Chloe pulled Max into a teary hug, burying her face into Max’s neck, still giggling like a schoolgirl. Max pulled away a fraction, then leaned forward ever so slightly, her lips barely touching Chloe’s. And she kissed her, gently, softly, lovingly. The world stopped. Sound disappeared. Colour dimmed except for the blue of Chloe’s hair and the soft pink of Max’s lips. Nothing existed except for the two of them, in each other’s arms, hands sliding into soft hair, laughter beginning to punctuate kisses.

They broke apart, Max’s mid-kiss laughter setting them both off again, and they held hands and laughed, the sound echoing throughout the grove, throughout Arcadia Bay, throughout the world.

Chloe loved Max; Max loved Chloe. They were each other’s angels and each other’s heroes. They would always love each other, come what may.

They would always make it through, together.

**Author's Note:**

> main pseuds: nehanshika_524  
> life has a funny way of working things out. no matter how bad things get, they will always, always become better. it's just one of the rules of life, you know?


End file.
